"EliteXC: Heat" draws 9,414 spectators for $826,000 gate

SUNRISE, Fla. — Saturday’s “EliteXC: Heat” event at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., drew a total attendance of 9,414 (7,723 paid) for a live gate of $826,433.

EliteXC executive Jeremy Lappen released the figures in the post-event press conference that followed the CBS-televised event.

Ticket sales for “Heat” exceeded EliteXC officials’ expectations and even forced the organization to open additional seating sections in the few days prior to the show.

However, despite what the organization announced as a sold-out crowd, it’s worth noting that the night’s “horseshoe” seating configuration used only about half of the venue’s available seats.

In other words, it was a sold-out crowd for the configuration (which included a completely empty upper seating bowl), but the venue was far from reaching maximum capacity.

The BankAtlantic Center, which is home to the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers, can be configured to accommodate up to approximately 22,000 spectators, though it’s usually capped at 19,000 for hockey games and other sporting events.

Still, following the disappointment of July’s “EliteXC: Unfinished Business” event in California, “Heat” was a solid rebound. After all, the July 26 event, which took place at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, drew just drew just 2,871 paid attendees (out of a total attendance of 6,572). That event, which also aired live on CBS, drew a meager gate of $269,000.

“EliteXC: Heat” was originally scheduled to feature a main event between Florida’s Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and UFC hall-of-famer Ken Shamrock. However, just a few hours prior to the start of the event, Shamrock was pulled from the card after he suffered a cut near his eye earlier in the day. Preliminary-card fighter Seth Petruzelli, also a Florida-based fighter, took Shamrock’s spot and stunned the previously undefeated Ferguson with a 14-second TKO.

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